The Prayer Box
Author: Lisa Wingate
Year: 2013
ISBN: 9781414388250
Abstract: When Iola Anne Poole, an old-timer on Hatteras Island, passes away in her bed at ninety-one, the struggling young mother in her rental cottage, Tandi Jo Reese, finds eighty-one carefully decorated prayer boxes, one for each year, spanning from Iola's youth to her last days. Hidden in the boxes is the story of a lifetime, written on random bits of paper.
Chosen by: Teresa
4/23/2025
Paved Paradise: How Parking Explains the World
Author: Henry Grabar
Year: 2023
ISBN: 9781984881137
Abstract: "An entertaining, enlightening, and utterly original investigation into one of the most quietly influential forces in modern American life--the humble parking spot. In a beguiling and often absurdly hilarious mix of history, politics, and reportage, Grabar brilliantly surveys the pain points of the nation's parking crisis, from Los Angeles to Disney World to New York, stopping at every major American city in between. He reveals how the pathological compulsion for car storage has exacerbated some of our most acute problems--from housing affordability to the accelerating global climate disaster--ultimately, lighting the way for us to free our cities from parking's cruel yoke" -- Provided by publisher.
Chosen by: Liz
4/23/2025
Assistant to the Villain
Author: Hannah Nicole Maehrer
Year: 2023
ISBN: 9781649375803
Abstract: "ASSISTANT WANTED: Notorious, high-ranking villain seeks loyal, levelheaded assistant for unspecified office duties, supporting staff for random mayhem and terror, and other Dark Things In General. Discretion a must. Excellent benefits. With ailing family to support, Evie Sage's employment status isn't just important, it's vital. So when a mishap with Rennedawn's most infamous Villain results in a job offer--naturally, she says yes. No job is perfect, of course, but even less so when you develop a teeny crush on your terrifying, temperamental, and undeniably hot boss. Don't find evil so attractive, Evie. But just when she's getting used to severed heads suspended from the ceiling and the odd squish of an errant eyeball beneath her heel, Evie suspects this dungeon has a huge rat...and not just the literal kind. Because something rotten is growing in the kingdom of Rennedawn, and someone wants to take the Villain--and his entire nefarious empire--out. Now Evie must not only resist drooling over her boss but also figure out exactly who is sabotaging his work...and ensure he makes them pay. After all, a good job is hard to find"-- Back cover.
Chosen by: Meghan
4/23/2025
Dalmartian
Author: by Lucy Ruth Cummins
Year: 2024
ISBN: 9781665911955
Abstract: An unlikely friendship develops when Stephen takes in an abandoned alien as his guest.
Chosen by: Kristie
4/23/2025
Arctic Traverse: a Thousand-mile Summer of Trekking the Brooks Range
Author: Michael Engelhard
Year: 2024
ISBN: 9781680516784
Abstract: "A lyrical memoir about wilderness, cultural connections, and gritty adventure across northern Alaska"-- Provided by publisher.
Chosen by: Amanda
4/23/2025
The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle
Author: Stuart Turton
Year: 2018
ISBN: 9781492657965
Abstract: Doomed to repeat the same day over and over, Aiden Bishop must solve the murder of Evelyn Hardcastle in order to escape the curse in a world filled with enemies where nothing and no one are quite what they seem.
Chosen by: Andi
4/23/2025
All American Boys
Author: Jason Reynolds, Brendan Kiely
Year: 2015
ISBN: 9781481463331
Abstract: That's the sidewalk graffiti that started it all ... Well, no, actually, a lady tripping over Rashad at the store, making him drop a bag of chips, was what started it all. Because it didn't matter what Rashad said next -- that it was an accident, that he wasn't stealing -- the cop just kept pounding him. Over and over, pummeling him into the pavement. So then Rashad, an ROTC kid with mad art skills, was absent again ... and again ... stuck in a hospital room. Why? Because it looked like he was stealing. And he was a black kid in baggy clothes. So he must have been stealing. And that's how it started. And that's what Quinn, a white kid, saw. He saw his best friend's older brother beating the daylights out of a classmate. At first Quinn doesn't tell a soul ... He's not even sure he understands it. And does it matter? The whole thing was caught on camera, anyway. But when the school -- and nation -- start to divide on what happens, blame spreads like wildfire fed by ugly words like "racism" and "police brutality." Quinn realizes he's got to understand it, because, bystander or not, he's a part of history. He just has to figure out what side of history that will be. Rashad and Quinn -- one black, one white, both American -- face the unspeakable truth that racism and prejudice didn't die after the civil rights movement. There's a future at stake, a future where no one else will have to be absent because of police brutality. They just have to risk everything to change the world. Cuz that's how it can end.
Chosen by: Lisa
4/23/2025
The Devil's Element: Phosphorus and a World Out of Balance
Author: Dan Egan
Year: 2023
ISBN: 9781324002666
Abstract: "The story of phosphorus spans the globe and vast tracts of human history. The race to mine phosphorus took people from the battlefields of Waterloo, which were looted for the bones of fallen soldiers, to the fabled guano islands off Peru, the Bone Valley of Florida, and the sand dunes of the Western Sahara. Over the past century, phosphorus has made farming vastly more productive, feeding the enormous increase in the human population. Yet, as Egan harrowingly reports, our overreliance on this vital crop nutrient is today causing toxic algae blooms and "dead zones" in waterways from the coasts of Florida to the Mississippi River basin to the Great Lakes and beyond. Egan also explores the alarming reality that diminishing access to phosphorus poses a threat to the food system worldwide--which risks rising conflict and even war"-- Provided by publisher
Chosen by: Erika
4/23/2025